Miko
by Earth Star
Summary: Continuation of "Slaying Shadows", "Snakes and Ladders" and "Learned to See."


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from "Matantei Loki RAGNAROK".

Author's Note: This is a continuation of the "Learn to See" series that has been slowly developing. In order to fully understand this story you must first read:

**"Learn to See" by Icka M. Chif**

**"Snakes and Ladders" by Ysabet**

**"Slaying Shadows." by LokiGirl**

My story takes place right after **"Slaying Shadows".**

I love Loki RAGNAROK, and after I read LokiGirl's "Slaying Shadows" I couldn't resist adding my own little chapter. This is my first time writing a Loki RAGNAROK fic, so I hope it lives up to everyone's satisfaction.

Well........here goes

"Miko"

Mayura heard birds singing a much too cheery song outside her window as she awoke. "Urrg....too early," she grumbled.

She snuggled deeper into her pillow. Sleep was what she wanted, and sleep was what she was going to get. No one was going to deprive her of that privilege! Even if her father came in....

Wait.... this wasn't her bed. It wasn't even her house. Mayura, now more awake and aware, rolled on her back. "That's right. I spent the night at Loki-kun's house."

How could she ever forget last night. So many things had happened. So many life changing things. Learning that Loki was actually a god, that Yamino and Fenrir were actually his children, and of course, Mayura becoming his new miko.

It was such an incredible ceremony. She'd would never forget it, but that wasn't the end of the surprises for her. Oh no! For then, right in front of her eyes, Loki transformed into what she learned to be his true form; a tall handsome man. The same tall handsome man she had met on several different occasions.

Looking back on it, she laughed at herself. She must have looked funny standing there stunned while grasping the concept that Loki and the handsome man were one and the same.

"I really should have realized it sooner." she thought. "The first time I saw the 'handsome man', I felt I knew him from somewhere. Then, there was how he mysteriously appeared during the time that Loki-kun was missing. It makes sense now. There were so many similar traits between them. Why didn't I make that connection before?"

Mayura sat up, hugging her knees. After the ceremony, they had spent so much time talking. By the time Yamino had realized how late it was, Loki had thought it would be more sensible for Mayura to spend the night.

Her father wasn't too thrilled when she called, but he agreed all the same.

"Papa...." she thought. Mayura had no idea how to, or even if she should tell her father of her new position as Loki's head priestess.

"He won't be happy, that's for sure, but that doesn't matter. I promised Loki-kun I would stay by his side and I meant it! I'm going to be his miko no matter what Papa thinks!"

She smiled in determination, then frowned at the thought of her other problem. Well....it wasn't really a problem. It was more of an issue she had to learn to adapt to. After seeing Loki in his true ADULT form, it was impossible to still think of him as a child.

When Loki told her he was a god, Mayura was shocked but still thought of him as a child. A powerful and mature child, but a child none the less. That vision was now gone.

She had always thought Loki was cute, not that she said it to him directly, but his real form was so handsome.

Mayura blushed madly as she remembered Loki's deep green eyes. "I just have to remind myself that Loki-kun is still the same Loki-kun I've always known. No matter how good looking he is...."

A sudden creak brought Mayura's attention to her door. Fenrir and Ecchan poked their heads in with anxious expressions.

"You're awake Mystery Girl!" Fenrir wagged his tail happily. "Can you come down stairs now. Yamino refuses to serve breakfast until both you and Daddy are up."

"Punyan!" Ecchan agreed

Mayura giggled. "Don't worry. I'll be right down."

Her two visitors scurried away pleased, as Mayura climbed out of bed.

At that exact moment, Loki was also proceeding down the stairs after he'd been greeted by his two small 'visitors'. He had returned to his child form. Last night was very memorable, although he hadn't meant to show Mayura his true god form so soon.

Loki's original plan was to tell Mayura once the ceremony was completed and he'd prepared her for the shock, not to spring it on her without warning.

He wasn't sure why it happened, but Loki figured it was a reflex after giving Mayura some of his magic and creating their new bond with one another. Loki could still clearly recall Mayura's reaction.

FLASHBACK

Mayura backed away stunned. "Loki-kun?"

Loki sheepishly laughed. "Oh dear......I wasn't expecting that to happen."

"You're .....you're the guy I met in the park."

Loki gently took her hand and led her to the couch. "Mayura......I'm afraid there are still a couple of things I need to explain.

END FLASHBACK

It did take a while to explain to Mayura, but at least now he no longer had to keep secrets from her. Not only would it make things so much easier, but now he'd no longer had that small fear of how Mayura would react once she found out the truth.

Loki didn't like the idea of Mayura being scared of him, and that fear had come true after Mayura's gained her 'gift to see'. Her reaction was so full of fear and confusion. Loki couldn't stand the guilty knot that rooted inside him from watching her. Now that she wasn't afraid anymore, Loki felt more at ease.

"Having Mayura as my miko will be interesting." Loki thought, with an amused smirk.

"Good morning Loki-sama!" Yamino greeted.

"Morning Yamino-kun. Fenrir and Ecchan told me you wouldn't serve breakfast until Mayura and I were both awake."

Yamino sweat-dropped. "Actually Loki-sama, as it turned out I ended up serving breakfast due to a surprise guest."

Loki looked to where his son pointed. He wasn't to surprised to see Narugami sitting at the table while devouring a pancake. "Hey Loki!" he waved, with his mouth full.

Loki smirked. "Narugami-kun...... and you came just as we were about to have breakfast. for you."

"You make it sound like the only reason I come here is to eat."

"Isn't it?"

The thunder god glared as Loki sat himself.

It was then that Mayura entered the room. "Morning Yamino-san! Morning Loki-kun....Oh Narugami-kun you're here too?"

Narugami ceased his glaring and blinked at Mayura. "Daidouji? What are you doing here so early?"

"Uh.....well..." Mayura stammered. "I wonder if we should tell Narugami-kun that Loki-kun is really a god?" she thought. "Then again, Loki-kun said we had to be careful of who we told his secret."

A playful smirk played on Loki's lips. "It's quite simple Narugami-kun. Mayura spent the night here, because we were having a special ceremony."

Narugami popped a sausage into his mouth. "Ceremony?"

"Yes. You see, as of last night, Mayura is now my official miko."

Narugami choked on his sausage. He was forced to pound on his chest for the sausage to successfully go down, before staring at both Loki and Mayura like they had each grown an extra head. "MIKO?! When on earth did you decide that?!"

"Yesterday."

"YESTERDAY?!" The thunder god could only blinked in bewilderment.

Mayura was now Loki's miko?! It was just so......sudden! Last he heard, Mayura was still trying to deal with her new second sight. He'd figured it would lead to Loki having to confess the truth to her.....but he'd never expected this!

"Wait a minute Loki-kun!" spoke Mayura. "Do you mean that Narugami-kun already knows you're a god?"

"Yes Mayura-san." Yamino replied. "For you see, Narugami-san is a god too."

It was now Mayura's turn to gasp. "No way! That's even more shocking than finding out that Loki-kun's a god!"

She received several blank stares. "Why......is it MORE shocking?" Narugami asked, not sure if he would like the answer.

"Well.....it's just that you're always complaining about how poor you are and how hard it is to find a part-time job to pay your rent.......I just can't imagine that being a problem for a god."

Loki grinned in a teasing manner. "She has a point Narugami-kun."

Narugami sulked. "Last time I checked Freyr wasn't exactly a 'rich man' either."

Mayura nearly fainted. "Don't tell me Kaitou-san's a god too?!"

"You bet he is! Reiya is one too!"

"REIYA-CHAN??!!"

"Err....Her case is a bit more complicated." Loki spoke hastily.

Mayura said nothing and nibbled on her pancake. "I can't believe there were so many Gods under my nose, and I didn't even realized it." She sweat-dropped. "Although, it does explain why Kaitou-san had that ship when he was helping me save the mystery club."

Loki wiped his face with his napkin and gave Ecchan his last sausage. "If you don't mind Mayura, as soon as you're done eating, we can get to work."

"Eh? Work on what Loki-kun?"

"Lessons on how to use some of the power I gave you. There's a lot you'll need to understand and know in order to be my miko and use magic."

"I'm ready Loki-kun!" Mayura cried, as she jumped from her seat and almost knocked over the maple syrup bottle."

Loki nodded pleased with the reaction. "Let's head to the backyard. Narugami-kun, Yamino-kun will show you out once you're done eating. I'm sure you have some new part-time job you need to get to."

"Um...sure." a befuddled Narugami replied as the pair left and were followed by Ecchan.

Narugami uneasily stared at Yamino. "Did Loki REALLY have Mayura become his miko?" The thunder god still thought it was possible that the whole thing was just a prank Loki was pulling. It wouldn't have been the first time that such a thing had occurred.

"Yes he did" Yamino said sincerely.

Narugami sighed. "He's not going to like this."

"We know." Fenrir spoke. "We heard some of Odin's thunder storms last night."

"Odin? Who's talking about Odin? I was talking about Freyr."

"Freyr-san?" Yamino replied confused.

"I doubt Freyr will be happy once he finds out that his precious Yamato Nadeshiko is Loki's miko." The thunder god stood up, preparing to leave. "At least with Odin you know to expect an assassin or two but with Freyr.......You might want to get a house repairing kit. Who knows what he'll do."

Yamino cringed as an image of an enraged Freyr crashing through his brand new mail order windows entered his mind.

Out in the backyard, Ecchan had settled himself on the porch, ready to watch Mayura have her first lesson.

"So what should I do first Loki-kun?" Mayura asked, bubbling with glee like a puppy waiting for its treat.

"Something simple." Loki remarked. "How about I teach you how to cast a couple of fire spells?"

"Fire? Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"Don't worry Mayura, it's easy and if you lose control, I'll take over. I am the God of fire, remember?"

Mayura nodded.

"Alright, first hold your hands out." Loki explained, as he did the action himself. Mayura copied him. "Picture a fire in your mind." he instructed, in a cool and calm voice. "Imagine how it would look. The shape, the touch, the colour, everything you can think of."

Mayura shut her eyes. She thought of the small campfires she'd seen as a child. Not very big fires, but warm and inviting. She would become so memorized by just staring at the beautiful flames.

Mayura felt a sudden jolt, like a spark that was set loose. She opened her eyes. A small ball of fire was crackling peacefully in her open palms.

"Amazing! Did I do that?!" she wondered.

"Very good Mayura!" Loki congratulated. "Not many people get it on their first attempt."

Mayura beamed with pride as she stared at the tiny marvel she had created. "This is incredible Loki-kun! What else might I be able to do?"

The trickster god thought for a moment. "Try......playing with it."

"Playing?"

"I suppose 'experimenting' might be a better word. Magic has a great deal to do with feelings and emotions. The stronger you feel, the stronger the magic can be."

Loki wasn't exactly sure how to explain it, but Mayura was catching on much faster than he's anticipated. Mayura would probably be fine, but if it appeared she was losing control, Loki planned to step in.

Mayura stared at the small flame like her fate depended on it. The ball of fire flickered, then it suddenly grew. Loki was slightly alarmed and set to move, but the flame stopped growing at a safe size. No bigger than a fist.

Much to Loki's astonishment, the flame multiplied. There was one, then two, then four and so on until Mayura was encircled by a ring of fire. Mayura twirled around joyfully. "This is so cool! I never thought I could do anything like this!"

"Neither did I." Loki thought to himself. "At least not this quickly. I thought it would take time for Mayura to learn." He smiled pleased. "I guess this proves she's a quick study as long as the subject interests her."

Loki watched as his miko spinned and danced among the flames. The glowing light gave her a golden aura, like she was actually glowing herself. Her hair swayed with the swift movement of her petite frame.

Loki mentally slapped himself, when he realized he was blushing.

Feeling dizzy from her dance, Mayura halted and the fire circle instantly disappeared as if it never existed. Loki clapped. "Excellent work! You may have a real talent for this."

Mayura smiled happily. "What's next Loki-kun?"

"Hmm........there is something you could try. I was going to save it for later...... but considering how fast you're learning...."

"Oh! Please tell me Loki-kun! Please!"

"Alright. Let's see how you can handle shape shifting."

Mayura blinked, perplexed. "You mean..... to change into different things?"

"Correct. It's one of my most famous talents." Loki said with great pride. "I did give you some power to do that, however, your ability has limits compared to mine ."

"How so?"

"You won't be able to hold your form as long as me. I can stay in a different form for months. You on the other hand, can only hold the form for......a week at most before you have to change back. It takes a lot of power to shape shift, so you will feel tired if you stay in your changed form too long."

Mayura nodded. "But.......how exactly do I shape shift Loki-kun?"

"I suppose it would be best if I showed you myself." Loki replied thoughtfully. "But I can't shape shift in this body. I'll have to change to my true form."

Before Mayura's eyes, little Loki changed into his much taller and 'not so little' form. He stood there, smiling at her, with his handsome green eyes. It made Mayura blush like crazy.

"Something wrong Mayura?"

"Err....NO! Nothing at all!" Mayura replied quickly.

Loki folded his arms. "Watch this." In a puff of smoke, Loki vanished. Standing in his place was a small hamster.

Mayura slowly kneeled to the grass. "Loki-kun?"

The hamster seemed to smirk and winked at her. "It's Loki-kun." Mayura thought. "No hamster in the world would smirk and wink like that."

In another puff of smoke, hamster Loki disappeared and the trickster god returned to his adult form. "Do you see what I mean by shape shifting?"

"Yes, but it looks complicated."

"It is." Loki confirmed. "It's crucial that you have a clear image of the form in your mind or you can end up with a few bizarre combinations."

"So what should I try first?"

"Nothing big, that's too hard for a beginner. Something small."

"How about a rabbit?"

"That's a good start. Just make sure to have a CLEAR image in your mind."

Mayura thought hard. She thought about what a rabbit looked liked. They were cute and fuzzy.......oh, and they had really, really long ears. The miko focused....but felt nothing change. She wasn't any fuzzier or smaller.

Mayura began to wonder why it hadn't worked, when Loki's sudden outburst of laughter distracted her. The god was rolling with laughter and was having trouble controlling it.

"Loki-kun what......" A white object suddenly flopped over Mayura's eyes. She tugged at it to find that it was attached to her head. At closer examination, she knew what they were. Rabbit ears! She had a pair of rabbit ears on top of her head.

Seeing Mayura's dazed reaction, Loki laughed harder.

"It's not that funny Loki-kun!"

"I'm........(giggle).....sorry." Loki replied loosely, wiping away a tear. "But I did warn you. You concentrated too much on the ears didn't you?"

"Sigh.......I suppose I did." Mayura sulked, stroking her flopped ears. "Can you get rid of them? If I go home like this, Papa will faint."

Loki managed to stopped laughing. "Sure thing Mayura." He gently touched one of the ears. "Although, you look cute with those ears."

Mayura blushed. Cute?! Loki thought she was cute?! For some reason, the comment made up for Loki's non-stop laughing.

The trickster god, waved his hand and the ears were gone in an eye wink.

"We'll try shape shifting another time." he said amused, and sat on the porch next to Ecchan. "How about we take a break?"

"Sounds good to me!" Mayura agreed and sat down. Ecchan moved from his seat and perched on Mayura's head.

She giggled and patted Ecchan's ears. "Loki-kun there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

Loki turned to her. "And that is?"

"If the tall adult form you're in now is what you really look like, why do you change into a child."

Loki's playful smirk changed into a more serious frown. "........When I was first exiled here, Odin sealed me into that child form and I couldn't change back. It wasn't a matter of choices."

"But you can change back now." Mayura pointed out.

"That's due to.....recent developments." Judging from the muddled expression Mayura was showing, Loki knew he'd have to explain further. "Odin has been sending assassins and has been trying to kill me for awhile. As surprising as it may sound, I didn't get angry, it annoyed and irritated me, but I still didn't get angry.......but then Odin crossed the line."

Mayura was silent, but remained at full alert. "Odin manipulated my daughter, Hel, against me."

"Daughter?"

Loki showed a sad smile. "You've already met her Mayura."

The girl bit her lip perturbed. What did that mean? She'd never met.....Mayura stopped cold. There was a girl she'd met! The one that had kidnapped her and tied her to a strange spider's web. The one that said her father hated her.

Mayura's eyes grew wide. "Loki-kun.....that girl that kidnapped me was Hel?"

He nodded. "So.....you're the father she was talking about."

Again, Loki nodded. "Odin had her believe I hated her. That was a lie of course....however..." Loki's throat tightened. "She might not have believed that if I has bothered to visit her more often when I lived in Asgard."

"Loki-kun...." This was a side of Loki Mayura wasn't used to seeing. "He must feel guilty for ignoring her for so long." she thought. Mayura remembered Hel's lonely face and sad eyes. To feel that alone..... She hugged her knees. "Did you and Hel-chan make up?"

Loki managed a small smile. "Yes thankfully, but it was then I returned to my true form."

His fists tightened. "I was planning to return to Asgard and have revenge for Hel and have Odin pay for what he'd done." Loki lowered his head, and let his hands fall into his lap.

"But I decided to stay and not go."

"Why?"

"It was because of you."

Mayura blinked. "Me?" She then recalled their talk in the park, when she told him how much Loki meant to him and how she just couldn't lose another important person in her life. "Did what I said change his mind?" Mayura thought.

"You looked so depressed." Loki continued. "I then realized than I was making the same mistake as I did with Hel."

Loki raised his gaze. "I was going to leave someone I cared about in pain. I......almost erased your memory so you wouldn't suffer, but.....that wasn't fair to you."

"So.......you stayed for me?" Mayura asked quietly.

"Yes and look how well that turned out." The trickster god smiled.

Mayura felt like crying. She was so happy and touched! "He'd stayed because of me! He cares about me!" she thought wiping a tear.

"Mayura are you alright?" Loki asked concerned.

"I'm fine." Mayura replied, drying her eyes. "But Loki-kun, why do you still stay as a child. I can understand that you stayed a child to keep it a secret from me, but I now that I know....."

"True, but I save more energy when I'm child. Besides it allows me to get away with more things." He gave a mischievous wink. "People tend to be easier on children, which is useful when you're a trickster like me."

Mayura rolled her eyes at the last statement, but in humor. "Oh really! Well, don't think I'm going to let you get away with things when you misbehave."

"Is that so?" Loki was suddenly covered in a bright light and an eye wink later, Mayura stared at the 10 year old Loki she'd always known. "Even when I'm so cute!"

Mayura returned the smirk. "That's right! Oh one more thing!" She rushed in on Loki and planted a kiss on the boy's cheek.

"Punyaan!" Ecchan cried.

Loki blushed and almost fell backwards. "Mayura?!"

"That's a thank you." She said while smiling and laughing. "For deciding to stay."

Loki could feel his ears becoming red. "Er...you're welcome."

The god wasn't sure of what to do next, but fate saved him from that task.

A crash bellowed from inside the house. Both Loki and Mayura spun around.

Yamino poked his head out, tears streaming down his face in agony. you come inside.....Freyr-san.....has just arrived...."

"By crashing through our window?"

Loki took the whimper Yamino gave as a yes. Loki sighed. It was going to be a long day and it wasn't even noon yet.

* * *

Well? How was it? I hope no one was disappointed. Now I believe I should explain a few things.

1.) Loki's shape shifting rule - the only time I've ever seen Loki shape shift in the series was when he was in his full adult form. I'm assuming that means he can't do it in his child form. It must take up a lot of magic, so his child form must not have as much as his adult form.

2.) Loki ability to change between adult form and child form - At the end of the series, I was a little confused. We saw Loki return to being child Loki, but it was never explained if that means he can't return to his adult form, or now he can go back between the two. For the sake of this story, I guessed he must be able to switch.

If I got anything wrong, I apologize in advance. I did the best I could.

There, I think that's all I need to explain. I hope you all like my addition to this "Learn to See" serial that's slowly developing and I hope that someone else will pick up the next chapter.


End file.
